Congress is divided into two institutions: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The two houses of Congress have equal but unique roles in the federal government.

Apportionment in the United States involves dividing the 435 voting seats every ten years. As per Article One of the United States Constitution, elections to the House of Representatives are held every two years, and districts are apportioned amongst the states according to their respective numbers.

Article I, Section II of the Constitution says that each state shall have at least one U.S. Representative, while the total size of a state’s delegation to the House depends on its population. The number of Representatives also cannot be greater than one for every thirty thousand people.

On this date, the House passed the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929, fixing the number of Representatives at 435. The U.S. Constitution called for at least one Representative per state and that no more than one for every 30,000 persons.

United States senators have been elected directly by voters since 1913. Prior to that time, state legislatures chose the state’s senators. In the mid-1850s, however, the state legislature selection process began to fail due to political infighting and corruption.

Senators are elected to six-year terms, and every two years the members of one class—approximately one-third of the senators—face election or reelection. Terms for senators in Class I expire in 2025, Class II in 2027, and Class III in 2023.

• The 100 U.S. Senate seats are classified into three classes of United States senators, two of which (classes 1 and 2) consist of 33 seats and one (class 3) of 34 seats.
• The three classes were established by Article I, Section 3, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution.

Class I terms run from the beginning of the 116th Congress on January 3, 2019, to the end of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2025.

FACT: This information is completely false. Members of Congress pay income taxes just like every other American. The U.S. tax code states that everyone who receives revenue must pay an income tax, including Representatives and Senators.

Class II – Senators Whose Terms of Service Expire in 2027 Senators in Class II were elected to office in the November 2020 general election, unless they took their seat through appointment or special election. Article I, section 3 of the U.S. Constitution mandates the Senate’s class structure.

H.J. Res. 2, if approved by two-thirds of the members of both the House and Senate, and if ratified by three-fourths of the States, will limit United States Senators to two full, consecutive terms (12 years) and Members of the House of Representatives to six full, consecutive terms (12 years).

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Taking office at age 29, Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress, and also the youngest member of the 116th Congress. When the 116th Congress convened on January 3, 2019, Ocasio-Cortez entered with no seniority but with a large social media presence.